Horn for shoe-sewing machines



DecQ30, 1930. B. T. LEVEQUE 1,786,624

v HORN FOR SHOE SEWING MACHINES Filed Sept. 10, 1928 mass ubba

Patented Dec. 3ft, IQBQ tars PATEN' FIFHE BERNARD '1. LEVEQUE, OF WENHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO "UNE'IED SHOE MACHINERY CORPGRATION, Oh PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY HORN FOR SHOE-SEWING MACHINES Application filed September 10, 1928. Serial No. 305,000.

The invention relates to sole sewing machines of the McKay type in which the shoe is supported on a rotatable horn located within the shoe and carrying a rotary whirl s which places thread in the hook of the needle after the needle has passed through the sole and entered the needle hole in the tip of the horn.

In this type of machine, a horn having a to small tip is often desirable as for instance, when sewing small or narrow toed shoes. In machines of this type, as ordinarily constructed, the rotary whirl in the tip of the horn is driven from the driving shaft mounted in 1 the horn through intermeshing bevel gears formed on the whirl, and on the upper end of the shaft. On account of the necessity of making the whirl and its driving mechanism large enough to be strongand durable, this construction and arrangement of parts results in the production of a horn tip which is larger than is desirable for certain kinds of work, as for instance the stitching of small or narrow toed shoes. Attempts have been made to devise a whirl driving mechanism which would permit a reduction in the size of the horn of the desired amount, but these attempts have been unsuccessful in producing a mechanism which could'be made of the required size and retain sufiicient strength and durability.

The present invention has for its object the production of a strong and durable and therefore practical whirl supporting and driving mechanism which will permit the tip of the born to be made of a smaller size than has heretofore been possible, and of a size suitable for use with small or narrow toed shoes.

As heretofore constructed, the horn tip of a McKay sewing machine has comprised a block in which the whirl is journaled, a cap piece secured to the block and overlying the whirl, and driving shaft extending longitudinally of the horn and provided at its upper end with a bevel gear meshing with a bevel gear formed on the outer and under surface of the whirl. This construction brings the upper end of the driving shaft beneath the whirl so that the shaft and whirl occupy a considerable amount of space in a vertical direction and also the shape of the whirl with its bevel gear portion prevents any reduction in the size of the parts beyond a certain limit. In order to produce a more compact con-- struction and one in which the upper end of the driving shaft is removed some distance from the extreme tip of the horn so that the horn tip can be made thinner in a vertical direction and narrower in a horizontal direction, it has been proposed to provide the whirl with spur gear teeth and drive the whirl from the driving shaft through an intermediate gear. Such constructions are disclosed for instance in the patents to Peare No. 526,-

325 and Richardson No. 663,100. These constructions however, have proved to be impractical unless made of a size substantially that of the ordinary construction in which the driving shaft meshes directly with the whirl. The reduction in the size of the parts to produce a horn tip of the size desirable for use with small or narrow toed' shoes has been prevented in these constructions principally by reason of the manner in which the intermediate gear has been constructed and mounted, the intermediate gear in each instance being bored out centrally and being Journaled ona stud passing through the horn cap and screwing into the whirl supporting and durability demanded for the sewing of l McKay shoes.

The present invention contemplates the use of an intermediate gear between the driving shaft and the whirl and in order to permit the desired reduction in the size of the parts without any sacrifice of strength and durability the invention contemplates forming the gear with an integral projecting hub and journalling this hub directly in the cap piece of the horn. This gear is provided with gear teeth upon its under surface and with aseries of teeth above these bevel teeth meshing with the teeth formed on the periphery of the whirl. Preferably the whirl is provided with spur gear teeth rather than with bevel gear teeth, and these teeth project from the upper portion of the whirl and are covered by the cap piece of the horn. The intermediate gear is supported between the cap piece and the whirl supporting block, and inasinuch as it is journaled in the cap piece and has no bearing projecting below the bevel teeth on its lower surface, it takes up the least possible amount of room. Also, inasmuch as the intermediate gear with its hub is a solid piece of metal, it retains its strength and durability when reduced in size much more than has been possible with prior constructions.

A horn embodying the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of the upper portion and tip of the horn; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the portion of the horn shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the cap piece removed from the horn and Fig. l is a detail perspective view of the intermediate gear through which the whirl is driven from the driving shaft.

Except as hereafter described, the horn illustrated in the drawing is of usual construction and comprises the body portion 1 in the upper portion of which a driving shaft- 2 is mounted in the usual manner, a block 3 secured by screws 4 to the body portion 1, and with the cap piece 5 forming the tip of the born. The whirl is indicated at 6, and in the construction shown, consists of a disc perforated in the usual manner for the needle and thread and provided at its upper portion with projecting spur gear teeth, the lower cylindrical portion of the whirl below the gear teeth being journaled in the block 3 and the gear teeth projecting over a horizontal seat on the block above the ournal of the cylindrical portion. The cap piece 5 is secured to the whirl supporting block 3 by means of a screw 7 passing through the cap piece adjacent its inner end and at its outer end extending over the whirl and holding the whirl securely in place. The cap piece 5 is perforated to receive the needle and it will be noted from an inspection of 2 that the cap piece extends over the projecting gear teeth of the whirl and thus effectively guards the teeth of the whirl from possible injury by tacks dislodged from the shoe by the needle.

The intermediate gear through which the whirl 6 is driven from the shaft 2 is indicated at 8. This gear comprises a body portion provided with peripheral gear teeth 9 adapted to mesh with the spur gear teeth of the whirl and also provided on its under surface with bevel gear teeth 10 adapted to mesh with corresponding bevel gear teeth formed on the upper end of the driving shaft 2. From the body portion of the gear a hub 11 projects upwardly which hub is formed integral with the body portion so that the entire gear with its hub consists of a solid piece of metal. The intermediate gear is confined in position between the block 3 and the cap piece 5 and is journaled by means of its hub 11 in the cap piece, the arrangement being such, as will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 2 that the gear occupies the least possible amount of space in the horn. The intermediate gear is held securely in position and at the same time is permitted to rotate freely, upward movement of the gear being prevented by the cap piece, and the gear resting lightly by gravity upon the bevel gear of the driving shaft 2 or upon the surface of the block 3 directly beneath the gear.

is has been stated, the cap 5 is secured to the block 3 by means of the screw 7 passing through the cap piece adajacent its inner end. Prefe ably, the cap piece is so shaped on its under surface that when placed in position on the block 3, it contacts with the block first at its extreme inner and outer ends and is' f-ltlfilglltGHQCl somewhat as it is forced down upon its seat by the screw 7. The cap piece at its outer end is thus forced firmly down against the surface surrounding the whirl so as to assure a tight joint to prevent wax and other foreign substances gaining access to the gear teeth of the whirl.

To still further secure the cap piece in place, it is provided adjacent its outer end with under-cut shoulders one of which is indicated at 12, which engage corresponding under-cut shoulders formed on the block 3.

The nature and scope of the present invention having been indicated and the mechanism embodying the invention having been specifically described, what is claimed is:

A work supporting horn for sewing machines of the McKay type having a tip comprising a whirl supporting block, a rotary whirl journaled therein, provided with gear teeth, a cap piece secured to the block and extending over the whirl, a whirl driving shaft provided with gear teeth, and a'gear intermediate the shaft and whirl located between the cap piece and block, said gear consisting of a solid piece of material and being provided with an imperforate projecting hub journaled in the cap piece.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

BERNARD T. LEVEQUE. 

